Review: Fire in You by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Jillian Lima’s whole
world was destroyed in a span of a few hours. The same night her
childhood love, Brock ‘the Beast’ Mitchell, broke her heart, her life
was irrevocably altered by the hand of a stranger with a gun. It takes
six years to slowly glue together the shattered pieces of her life, but
Jillian is finally ready to stop existing in a past full of pain and
regret. She takes a job at her father’s martial arts Academy and she’s
going out on her first date since a failed relationship that was more
yuck than yum. Jillian is determined to start living.

She just
never expected Brock to be a part of her life again. But he’s firmly
back in her life before she knows it, and not only is he older, he’s
impossibly more handsome, more teasing and more everything. And when he
sees Jillian, he’s no longer capable of thinking of her as the little
girl who was his shadow growing up or the daughter of the man who gave
him a second chance at life. He sees the woman who’d always been there
for him, the one person who believed in him no matter what.

Brock
knows she’s the one he should’ve made his, and what begins as a
tentative friendship quickly turns to red-hot chemistry that sparks a
flame that burns brighter than lust. Falling for Brock again risks more
than her heart, because when the past sorrow-filled and guilt-ridden
past resurfaces, and a web of lies threatens to rip them apart, the
fallout could lay waste to everything they’ve fought to build together,
and destroy the dreams of those they care most about.

Review

Starting reviews is like the hardest thing in the world for me. But you gotta start somewhere.

After I started reading this, I realized I never read the synopsis. Going in I knew this was about Brock and Jillian, but that's it. And I'm kind of happy about that. I think that made me enjoy it more.

Now, at it's core, this is an unrequited love story which I'm not a fan of. Overall, I enjoyed their story, but I still don't fully buy it. I don't believe in these kinds of lover stories so it doens't really have to do with the writing. It probably doesn't help that Brock is her boss. He never pressured her, but the potential power-dynamic issues are always in the back of my mind.

Jillian was a good character and narrator. She's a pretty typically JLA heroine-loves to read, pop culture references, etc. That doesn't bother me at all. And she has a great support-system of family and friends.

Speaking of friends, it was great to see all the couples from the earlier books. A lot of time has passed so things have changed. And Katie. I still want more about her, but after this one I feel like I never will get that.

The first book in this weries is still my favorite, but the rest are enjoyable. This felt a lot like a closing of the series, but I don't know if it is. If you do let me know.